All About Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind - Epcot Coaster

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is one of Disney’s best rides. This post covering the ride has two sections. First, we start with a section about the basics of the ride—what, when, and where. Then we follow up with some information on how to ride this great ride and what we think of it. Read on to learn all about Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind!

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This post is a quick guide to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, but we have related content that dives deeper into topics. Our Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy Guide covers Lightning Lane strategy in depth. The Epcot Rides and Entertainment Guide gives brief introductions to all the park’s offerings. For putting together your day at the park, we have a One Day Plan for Epcot.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Basics

Cosmic Rewind is an indoor roller coaster at Disney’s EPCOT in Walt Disney World. Cosmic Rewind:

Disney warns that “you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.”

If you’re visiting Epcot with small children, you’ll maybe need to use rider switch to ride. There is a playground nearby. There are several rides nearby without height requirements. The Seas pavilion also has an aquarium.

Riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

There are two ways to get on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, via Lightning Lane or by waiting in the standby line.

The Lightning Lane Single Pass for Cosmic Rewind usually costs around $16 to $19 per person. Altogether we think the ride is good enough to justify that cost, the question is more whether the time you save not having to wait in line is worth that cost.

If you have Early Entry, you can start your day right at Cosmic Rewind. It’s very near the front of the park, and successful rope drops from the International Gateway entrance have even been reported (I don’t think I’d have the courage to try, personally).

Without a Lightning Lane or Early Entry, you’re looking at a wait of 60 to 120 minutes most days. If you have Lightning Lane Multi Pass—or if waits for Remy’s and Frozen won’t otherwise be a problem for you—this isn’t awful for one really good ride.

If you’re staring down trying to wait in line for all three of those rides, you’re really going to want to reconsider purchasing either Lightning Lane Multi Pass or the Single Pass for Cosmic Rewind (I’d personally go with the former). EPCOT offers a ton of great non-ride things to do, it’s a shame to waste half your day waiting for these three rides.

Guarding the Galaxy at 60 Miles Per Hour

Note: Spoilers!

The Cosmic Rewind queue is set in the “Wonder of Xandar” pavilion. The idea here is that you’re in a museum of sorts showcasing Xandar and some connections to Earth. It’s overall a fun enough queue, but maybe not dense enough in effect. It you compared it to the queue at, say, Expedition Everest, you’d feel it’s a bit thin.

As the queue ends you’re transported aboard the Xandarian ship with a nice bit of effect. Of course, things go wrong and suddenly you’re confronted by a Celestial trying to erase humanity. That’s when you and the Guardians of the Galaxy jump into action.

The ride itself is great fun, in keeping with the Guardians of Galaxy theming. One of the big features of the ride is a unique ride vehicle that allows for 360-degree motion a reverse launch.

The soundtrack is a highlight of the ride, and in terms of visuals I think the ride walks a fine line of showing you enough to keep you feeling like you’re in a story without overwhelming you with head turns. It’s first and foremost a coaster, not a dark ride.

To that end, I think the pre-launch hype did the ride a disservice. I would not say I was blown away by any aspect of the ride. It’s an excellent coaster, but about 1/3 of the way in I understood everything about it. You might contrast this with, for example, Rise of the Resistance, which surprises until the very end.

But that does border on letting the perfect be the enemy of the great—and this is a very great ride.

Guardians Of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind FAQ

Does Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind make you sick?

This has been a big topic since the ride opened, with many guests experiencing motion sickness on the ride. Between the two of us, Emily has experienced mild motion sickness, while Kenny has not. Both of us experience some motion sickness on many rides at Universal Orlando, but none on any other rides at Walt Disney World except Mission: SPACE.

The most common tip to handle the motion sickness is to keep your head back and facing forward, letting the ride point you in one way or another, rather than moving your head to look around during the ride.

Is this ride anywhere else?

No! This is a brand new ride. Unlike also-newish rides TRON and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, this ride is not a duplicate of a Disney ride in another park. There is another Guardians of the Galaxy Ride—Guardians of the Galaxy—Mission: BREAKOUT! in Disney California Adventure, but that ride is not a coaster, it’s a drop ride (built on the old Tower of Terror).

All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered

Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.

Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.

When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!

Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.

Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.

Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.